Chapter 39 Late-Night Conversation Interrupted
Late at night, after finishing his overtime work, Shen Huai'an returned home alone.
The living room and bedroom were both quiet and dark; Aunt Wang and Uncle Liu had already left by now.
He didn't turn on the light. After taking off his shoes, he walked barefoot onto the wooden floor and slowly sat down on the sofa. Under the cover of night, a faint restlessness lingered between his brows and eyes.
The soft sofa beneath him couldn't wash away his weariness. Shen Huaian stared quietly at a spot in the darkness, remaining motionless for a long time.
When Bai Zhenzhen was half asleep, she heard the faint sound of water coming from the bathroom outside. After a while, the sound stopped, and the bedroom door was opened and then gently closed.
She closed her eyes and waited for a while, but there was no sound behind her for a long time. As her thoughts gradually cleared, she opened her eyes and found that the room was still pitch black.
Shen Huai'an returned without even turning on the lights, and now he's standing motionless by the bed. What does that mean?
Just as she was about to turn over, she felt the mattress slightly sink. A corner of the thin blanket behind her was lifted, and a man with a cool aura gradually approached. As he slowly lay down, the room returned to silence.
Bai Zhenzhen was wide awake now, remembering the phone call he made that evening, and the things Zhou Minghui had told her that afternoon.
It turns out that without her knowledge, Shen Huai'an had secretly hired someone to investigate the Bai family company after learning about the incident.
In the past, Bai Zhenzhen might have subconsciously thought he had ulterior motives, but after Shen Huai'an mentioned twice that she could ask him for help if she encountered any problems, she no longer thought that way.
The two-meter-wide bed was more than enough for two people to lie down, and Shen Huai'an probably slept on the edge of the bed so as not to disturb her if he came back late, so there was almost half a meter of space between the two of them.
With a more spacious sleeping area, Bai Zhenzhen suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. She wasn't the type of person who would hesitate for a long time; she would do whatever came to mind.
Bai Zhenzhen rolled over to the other side, shifted her body a couple of times, rested her head on the man's shoulder, draped her arm over his chest, and gently stroked his heart with her palm.
Shen Huai'an suddenly raised his hand from beside him and grasped her hand, asking in a low voice, "What's wrong? Did I wake you up?"
It sounded like nothing was different from usual. Bai Zhenzhen couldn't tell if he was angry or not, so she simply put her hand on him and stretched her arm over him to turn on the bedside lamp.
A soft, bright orange light enveloped the two of them. Bai Zhenzhen turned on the light, too lazy to climb back up, and simply lay down on him.
Shen Huai'an's eyes narrowed slightly from the sudden bright light. Before he could react, a soft body pressed against his chest. His gaze lowered, and a small, pink face suddenly appeared in his vision.
Slightly sleepy eyes were gently pressed down by long eyelashes, casting a small shadow under the eyelids; a delicate nose and pink lips, a pointed chin connecting to the collarbone, and below that...
The man's gaze deepened for a moment, then he quickly withdrew it, maintaining a calm tone as he said, "It's getting late, go to sleep."
After saying that, he reached out as if to turn off the light.
Bai Zhenzhen watched his actions and suddenly felt a surge of anger. "Don't turn off the lights!"
She straightened up again, then straddled him with one leg, raising her chin to look down at him, and said unhappily, "Shen Huai'an, I'm only giving you one chance. Ask me what you want now, and afterwards I..."
She couldn't finish her sentence because a large hand suddenly appeared around her waist. Through the thin silk nightgown, the burning palm gently pinched her slender waist. Bai Zhenzhen felt as if someone had grabbed her by the handle, and her waist went limp.
The imposing aura she had just gained dissipated considerably, but her eyes still glared at him, carrying a hint of arrogance and resentment.
Shen Huai'an gently pursed his lips, a smile suddenly appearing on his lips, his eyebrows and eyes relaxing.
She knew what he wanted to ask, but now he felt it didn't matter whether he asked or not; there was no need to ask anymore.
Whether Bai Zhenzhen wanted to tell him about the Bai family company or not, or why she didn't ask him for help immediately but instead ignored him, the answer was no longer important to him.
He wasn't the type to dwell on things for too long. From the initial suspicion that she was hiding something from him, to the unexpected discovery from Zhou Minghui that she preferred to seek help from others rather than take the initiative to contact him, Shen Huai'an did have some doubts. He wondered if Bai Zhenzhen had ever trusted him. This suspicion made him doubt himself, and even the feelings he had built up over the past few days seemed to be shrouded in mist.
However, from another perspective, standing in Bai Zhenzhen's shoes, Shen Huai'an felt that it was understandable that she didn't tell him about her family's affairs. First of all, she had already thought of a solution, and perhaps it really wasn't a difficult problem to solve, as she said, so there was no need to tell him. In addition, it seemed normal that she didn't want to tell him about the Bai family's company.
Shen Huai'an knew he had never coveted anything from the Bai family. With an open mind, he had never considered such a question. Now that he understood these principles, he naturally stopped worrying about Bai Zhenzhen's intentions.
Bai Zhenzhen could tell that he really didn't care, but she didn't care. Now that she wanted to speak, he had to listen.
“I didn’t mean to hide anything from you. I had a plan for what happened at the company recently, and the Li family’s actions were all within my expectations. It was a last-minute decision to hire Zhou Minghui as my lawyer, but you should be able to tell from this that I didn’t intend to hide anything from you.”
Zhou Minghui is Shen Huai'an's senior in school. If she wanted to keep it from him, she wouldn't have chosen Zhou Minghui as her lawyer.
“Yes, I know,” Shen Huai’an said calmly, his fingers gently tracing the back of her waist. “After graduating from university, my senior colleague interned at a state-owned law firm. He specializes in economic cases involving commercial disputes. You’ve come to the right person. As for what happens next…”
He initially wanted to say that if she had any questions during the follow-up communication, she could come back and ask him. However, he then thought that since his senior brother was there, he would probably explain things to her, so he prepared to change his words.
But before she could even speak, Bai Zhenzhen's phone, which was on the bedside table, suddenly rang.
Their attention was immediately drawn to the question: who would call in the middle of the night?
Shen Huai'an, who was nearby, picked up his phone and handed it to Bai Zhenzhen, indicating that she should answer the call.
Bai Zhenzhen's face turned pale as she looked at the caller ID on her phone. Her hand holding the phone trembled involuntarily before she quickly answered, "Hello..."
A few slightly anxious male voices could be faintly heard from the other end of the phone. Shen Huai'an then saw that Bai Zhenzhen's face was visibly pale.
He sat up immediately, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her tense back with his large hand, offering silent comfort.
"Okay, I'll be right there!" Bai Zhenzhen replied, tossed her phone aside, and got out of bed, her bare feet on the floor, as if she was about to leave immediately.
Shen Huai'an hadn't paid attention to what the person on the phone was saying, but seeing her extremely anxious appearance, he knew it was probably something that concerned her greatly.
“It’s practically impossible to get a taxi outside at this hour. Don’t panic. We’ll contact Uncle Liu to come pick you up first,” he said, reaching out to stop Bai Zhenzhen, who was in a hurry to leave. “Don’t panic, I’ll go with you. Put your shoes on now, and change your clothes while Uncle Liu is here, okay?”
Bai Zhenzhen was almost completely disoriented at this moment. If Shen Huai'an hadn't been holding her hand tightly, she would have rushed out the door.
His voice, though close enough to her ears, was completely inaudible. Bai Zhenzhen, unable to move as he was being pulled, even began to struggle, crying out, "Let go! Let me go!"
Shen Huai'an patiently explained to her several times before she calmed down. Then he picked her up and took her to the dressing room to change her into new clothes. He took out a pair of comfortable flat shoes for her to wear. He didn't bother to tidy himself up, and just hurriedly put on a coat before taking her to Uncle Liu's car.
Uncle Liu knew they wouldn't call him in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency, so he rushed over as quickly as possible. After picking them up, he immediately asked, "Miss, where are you going?"
"To the hospital! Uncle Liu, take me to the Central Hospital quickly!" Bai Zhenzhen immediately said her destination, her eyes fixed straight ahead, wishing she could sprout wings and fly there.
Shen Huai'an sat in the back seat, feeling her body trembling slightly. He silently hugged her tightly, pressing his large hand against her cheek and gently pulling her into his arms to comfort her.
Bai Zhenzhen closed her eyes, unwilling to think too deeply, but her mind was filled with the phone call she had just received. The secretary who was with Bai Chuxiong told her that her father had suddenly fallen ill in the middle of the night. Fortunately, Dr. Zhao was with him, and he had been taken to the hospital. The secretary was afraid that something might happen, so she quickly called to inform her.
She couldn't understand why her father had suddenly fallen ill. She hadn't tried to divorce Shen Huai'an, and the Li family hadn't been able to cause trouble for him. Why was this still happening? What if something really happened to her father? What should she do?
The large hand that was gently stroking her back paused. Shen Huai'an felt a slight dampness on his shoulder and heard her soft sobbing in his ear, like the kind of crying that she was trying hard to suppress but still couldn't help but feel terrified.
He didn't know who had gotten into trouble, which made her so scared and sad.
Shen Huai'an had someone in mind, but dared not speculate further. He simply comforted her in a calm voice, "Don't be afraid, don't worry, we'll be there soon."
Uncle Liu gripped the steering wheel and drove them to the Central Hospital as fast as he could. As soon as the car came to a stop, Bai Zhenzhen opened the car door and jumped out. Shen Huai'an followed closely behind, protecting her as they walked into the hospital lobby.
Zhao Yongchang happened to come downstairs to meet them and waved to them from the direction of the stairs, "Miss Bai, this way."
“Miss Bai, don’t worry. Mr. Bai’s condition has just stabilized and he has been moved to a regular ward. You can come up with me to see him now.” Zhao Yongchang could tell from her anxious expression that she was very worried, so he told her about Bai Chuxiong’s condition first.
Bai Zhenzhen blinked, and as the tension in her mind eased, tears that had been welling up in her eyes instantly streamed down her face. Zhao Yongchang, who had been explaining the situation to her, panicked upon seeing this, "Miss Bai, Mr. Bai is fine now, he..."
Standing beside her, Shen Huai'an raised his hand and gently wiped away her tears. "The doctor said her condition has stabilized. Shall we go and see her now?"
Shen Huai'an was also very worried when his father-in-law suddenly fell ill. However, he also noticed the doctor's unexpected familiarity with Bai Zhenzhen, but now was not the time to investigate these things.
He gently comforted Bai Zhenzhen, then used a slightly firmer hand to lead her upstairs to the ward.
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